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West Midlands (region)
}} The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley, Solihull, Walsall and West Bromwich. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, but is separated from the conurbation to the west by several miles of green belt. The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the southeastern Peak District National Park near Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Wye valley, Shropshire hills, Cannock chase, Malvern hills, and parts of the Cotswolds. Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of the writer William Shakespeare. It and Greater London are the only regions of England and of the United Kingdom which are landlocked. Geography The official region contains the large conurbation that includes Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but also covers the predominantly rural shire counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Shropshire, Lyth Hill.]] There is some confusion in the use of the term "West Midlands", as the name is also used for the much smaller West Midlands county, and is still used by various organisations within that area such as West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service. The highest point in the region is Black Mountain, at 703 metres (2,307 ft) in west Herefordshire on the border with Powys, Wales. The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), including all of the Shropshire Hills, Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase, and parts of the Wye Valley and Cotswolds. The Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire. Transport Road plaza.]] Numerous notable roads pass through the region, with most converging around the central conurbation. The M5, which connects South West England to the region, passes through Worcestershire, near to Worcester, and through the West Midlands county, past West Bromwich, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M6 just south of Walsall. The M6, which has its southern terminus just outside the southeast of the region at its junction with the M1, and which connects the region to North West England, passes Rugby and Nuneaton in Warwickshire, Coventry and Birmingham, and Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The M6 toll provides an alternative route to the M6 between Coleshill and Cannock, passing north of Sutton Coldfield and just south of Lichfield. The M40 connects the region through South East England to London, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M42; it passes close to Warwick and Banbury. The M42 connects the M5 at Bromsgrove, passing around the south and east of Birmingham, joining the M40 and M6, passing Solihull and Castle Bromwich, to Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham. The M50 connects the M5 from near Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye in the southwest. The M54 connects Wellington in the west, passing Telford, to the M6 near Cannock. The A5 road traverses the region northwest-southeast, passing through Shrewsbury, Telford, Cannock, Tamworth and Nuneaton. Transport policy was one of the first motorways built in the UK, and is now one of the quietest]] As part of the transport planning system, the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the Highways Agency and Network Rail. Within the region, the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan (LTP) which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006-11. In the West Midlands region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: Herefordshire, Shropshire U.A., Staffordshire, Telford and Wrekin U.A., Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The transport authority of Stoke-on-Trent U.A. publishes a Joint Local Transport Plan in partnership with Staffordshire County Council to cover the North Staffordshire Major Urban Area, which includes Stoke-on-Trent and the more urban parts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands. Towns and cities Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include:Office for National Statistics - Key Statistics for Urban Areas Population data :Bold indicates city status. ;Population > 750,000 * Birmingham, WMS ;Population > 250,000 * Coventry, WMS * Stoke-on-Trent, STS * Wolverhampton, WMS ;Population > 100,000 * Dudley, WMS * Walsall, WMS * Telford, SHR * West Bromwich, WMS * Sutton Coldfield, WMS * Newcastle-under-Lyme, STS ;Population > 70,000 * Nuneaton, WAR * Redditch, WOR * Shrewsbury, SHR * Solihull, WMS * Tamworth, STS * Worcester, WOR ;Population > 50,000 * Burton-upon-Trent, STS * Cannock, STS * Halesowen, WMS * Hereford, HER * Kidderminster, WOR * Rugby, WAR * Stafford, STS * Stourbridge, WMS ;Other Notable * Leamington Spa, WAR * Leek, STS * Lichfield, STS * Stratford-upon-Avon, WAR * Warwick, WAR * Bedworth, WAR s in Light Green and National Parks in Dark Green.]] History ]] Much of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom began in Birmingham and the Black Country area of West Midlands. The Black Country may be regarded as the World's first industrial landscape, while nearby Ironbridge Gorge claims to be the Birthplace of Industry. The world's first cast iron bridge spans the Gorge. Much of the UK's car industry would be centred in Coventry and Birmingham. Most of this has now gone. Regional Assembly The official representative body of the region is the West Midlands Leaders Board which has limited administrative functions such as regional planning and economic development. The board is not an elected body, but is made up of members appointed from local councils across the region and is known as a quango. It is based on Edward Street in Birmingham, near the National Indoor Arena. From March 2010, the funding decisions at regional level were taken over by Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency. Demographics Ethnicity The West Midlands is the second most ethnically diverse part of the UK (Greater London being the most diverse). This is in large part due to the West Midlands conurbation, which is highly diverse. The ethnic makeup of the West Midlands as a whole as measured by the 2011 census was as follows: Teenage pregnancy For top-tier authorities in the West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent has the highest teenage pregnancy rate. For council districts, Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire has the highest rate closely followed by Tamworth. For top-tier authorities, Shropshire has the lowest rate, and for council districts Malvern Hills has the lowest rate. Social deprivation The region, from studies of multiple deprivation, shows similarities with Yorkshire and the Humber, and is more deprived than the neighbouring East Midlands. From the Indices of deprivation 2007, it can be seen that, in common with Northern England, the region has more Lower Area Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than in the 20% least deprived districts.LSOA data The region's most deprived council districts, in descending order, are Birmingham (10th highest in England), Sandwell (14th), Stoke-on-Trent (16th), Wolverhampton (28th), Walsall (45th), Coventry (61st), and Dudley (100th). These have Labour MPs except for a Conservative MP in Walsall, one in Sandwell, one in Dudley, and one in Wolverhampton (Wolverhampton South West), and a Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley.Communities and Local Government 2007 The least deprived districts in 2007 (before Shropshire became a unitary authority in 2009) were Bromsgrove, South Staffordshire, Warwick, Wychavon, and Lichfield. These areas, like all rural areas of the West Midlands, have Conservative MPs. At county level, the least deprived areas, in descending order, were Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Solihull, Staffordshire, and Shropshire. In March 2011 the region had the second highest overall unemployment claimant count in England at 4.7%, second to North East England. The highest in the region was Wolverhampton at 7.7%, the joint second highest (with Manchester) unemployment rate in England. Next is Sandwell with 7.1%, Birmingham with 7.0%, and Walsall with 6.4%. The lowest rate in the region is the district of Stratford-on-Avon, with 1.6% - one of the lowest unemployment rates in England.Claimant count Elections In the 2010 General Election, the Conservatives gained the largest share of the region by popular vote and took control of the number of seats, with 40% of the region's electorate voting Conservative, 31% Labour and 21% Liberal Democrat (very similar to the East Midlands). Although having a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than the neighbouring East Midlands, the geographic area of the West Midlands is more Conservative, due to Labour's vote now consigned to the urban areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Telford and Stoke-on-Trent. The number of seats is more favoured towards Labour than the geographic spread, with 33 Conservative seats, 24 Labour and 2 Liberal Democrat (neighbouring each other around Solihull). Important metropolitan gains by the Conservatives were in the Dudley and Wolverhampton boroughs. All of Warwickshire, Staffordshire (except Newcastle-under-Lyme), Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire (except Telford) is now Conservative. The Conservatives gained 15 seats with a 6.3% swing from Labour to Conservative. Eurostat NUTS In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), the West Midlands form a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKG", which is subdivided as follows: Local government The official region consists of the following subdivisions: Key: †shire county | *metropolitan county Demography ]] Birmingham, Centenary Square.]] The West Midlands' population accounts for almost 11% of England's overall population. 49.36% of the region's population resides in the West Midlands county, 20.17% in Staffordshire, 10.49% in Worcestershire, 9.91% in Warwickshire, 8.56% in Shropshire, and 3.37% in Herefordshire. Economy Business Link West MidlandsBusiness Link is based on the Quinton Business Park in Quinton, next to the Highways Agency and the M5 at the A456 junction. NHS West Midlands, the strategic health authority on Hagley Road (A456) in Edgbaston. West Midlands Ambulance Service is on the Waterfront Business Park in Brierley Hill, off the A461, near the headquarters of West Midlands Police. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is on Wolverhampton Science ParkManufacturing Advisory Service off the A449 north of the city centre. UKTI for the regionUKTI is based at West Midlands Chambers of Commerce on Harborne Road (B4284), south of NHS West Midlands. Most of the region is covered by the Midlands Air Ambulance, except Warwickshire is covered by the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, based at Coventry Airport; both are charity-funded. Herefordshire ]] Bulmers Cider is in Hereford. Cadbury UK make milk chocolate near Marlbrook (near Leominster). Weston's Cider is in Much Marcle, south-west of Ledbury at the A449/B4024 junction. Holden Aluminum Technologies are a sports car chassis manufacturer at Linton on the A44, east of Bromyard. Kingspan Insulation is based at Pembridge, next to Shobdon Aerodrome, west of Leominster off the A44. Shropshire The PDSA, Rayburn Range and Aga Rangemaster Group are based in Telford. The MoD have a significant depot at Donnington. There are also high-technology industries such as Unimation, Nikon, Hitachi Maxell, Ricoh, Capgemini, Fujitsu and Electronic Data Systems. In Hadley Castle off the A442, Denso Manufacturing UK Ltd make car air-conditioning systems and GKN Wheels make car wheels. Nearby is Ogihara Europe, a tool making (dies and press) and metal-pressing company. Makita Manufacturing Europe off the A518 at Hortonwood at Telford is the only plant in the UK that makes power tools. Chequer Foods (owned by the Chiswick-based Autobar Group), off the A442 near the A4169 junction in Halesfield to the south, make food sachets for foodservice and for the UK's military ration packs. Müller Dairy Ltd is based in Market Drayton, and Palethorpes, part of Pork Farms which makes own-label sausages, is on the same site on A53. At Crudgington, Dairy Crest makes Country Life butter and Clover. Anglo Beef Processors (ABP Food Group) are at Harlescott in the north of Shrewsbury. Nearby Stadco, a metal pressings company, are based off the A5124 and next to the railway, on the Battlefield Ind Estate and have a site at Hadley Castle, Telford off the A442. Uniq plc have a plant on the A488 at Minsterley making chilled desserts for Tesco. Riversimple propose to make hydrogen-powered (fuel cell) cars in Ludlow. Bridgnorth Aluminum (owned by the Greek company Elval) makes aluminum foil (for food preparation) and offset plates for lithography on the A458 at Danesford, south of Bridgnorth. Grainger & Worrall cast aluminum and iron engine blocks off the A454. Staffordshire , holder of the land speed record for diesel-engined vehicles]] The brewing companies such as Coors Brewers are in Burton on Trent, as well as Marmite, Marston's Brewery, GNC UK (health supplements), and Doncasters (aerospace components and steel forging, founded by Daniel Doncaster of Sheffield). Conder Structures is a structural steel company next to Marmite on the A5121. Spirit Pub Company (which demerged from Punch Taverns in August 2011, and owns Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Fayre & Square) is near the A5121/A38 junction, with Punch Taverns slightly further north. JCB is based in Staffordshire, near the Alton Towers colossal leisure park. Newell Rubbermaid UK (owner of Parker Pen, Berol, Paper Mate and DYMO) and Zytek (motorsport) are at Fradley Park, next to the A38, on an old airfield. Norgren (part of IMI) is an international pneumatic technology company on the A5192 in Lichfield. Michelin Tyres are made in Sideway in Stoke-on-Trent, with Royal Doulton and Wedgwood based in Barlaston. Emma Bridgewater make pottery on the A50 in Hanley. Premier Foods make Mr Kipling slices and Cherry Bakewells in Trent Vale in the south of Stoke-on-Trent. Bet365 is on Festival Park in Etruria, off the A53. Dechra Pharmaceuticals make veterinary pharmaceuticals at Talke, off the A34. Churchill China are at Sandyford near Tunstall at the A50/A527 junction. Sumitomo Electrical Wiring Systems (Europe), who supply wiring for the automotive industry, are in Silverdale, not far from Keele University. At Kidsgrove off the A34, Converteam (former GEC) make variable speed drives (VSDs). AWS Electronics have a factory, off the A34 north of Newcastle. from the brewing industry ]] RoadChef are at Norton Canes, near Cannock. TKA Tallent make car suspensions and crossmembers at Cannock. Motivair, who make air compressors, is based off the A5190 in Burntwood. Armitage Shanks is in Rugeley. The UK headquarters of Alstom Grid (former Areva T&D UK, and GEC) is based in Stafford as well as a factory and the UK headquarters of Bostik (a subsidiary of TOTAL). Alstom Power repair electrical generators. Invotec Group, a PCB manufacturer, is based off the A51 in Dosthill, south of Tamworth. Numark Pharmacy is in Tamworth (former base of Reliant). JVM Castings make crankcases off the A51 at The Leys in Tamworth, and have a site in Worcester. Bristan (owned by Masco) based in Dordon and Baddesley Ensor on the Birch Coppice Business Park south-west of Tamworth, next to a new Ocado distribution centre, is the UK's largest supplier of kitchen and bathroom taps. Premier Foods make Bird's Custard, Angel Delight and Marvel powdered milk in Knighton, west of Eccleshall near the Shropshire boundary. Static Systems Group (SSG) in Wombourne, south Staffordshire, make most of the nurse call systems for the NHS. Kerrygold have a large cheese production site on the A53 in Leek on the Barnfields Industrial Estate. Warwickshire Bridgestone UK, Telent (near the A46 bypass), Calor (on Tachbrook Park off the A452), Baxi (now owned by BDR Thermea, and on the A429 near Warwick railway station) with Potterton, Volvo Group UK (next to the A46 bypass) and a large data centre of IBM are in Warwick. Dennis Eagle, who make bin wagons, are headquartered off the A452 at Heathcote Ind Estate, in east Warwick towards Leamington. Godiva (former Hale Products Europe, part of the IDEX Corporation) are the UK's leading manufacturer of fire pumps off the A445 in Emscote, east Warwick. Codemasters, Aga Rangemaster Group, and Wolseley UK are in Leamington Spa. On the Warwick Technology Park, south of Warwick on the A425, are ConocoPhillips UK who own JET UK (petrol), McKesson's European HQ (who produce the software for the NHS's 1.4 million employees' payroll - the largest payroll in the UK),NHS Electronic Staff record National Grid plc, Midcounties Co-operative, the wireless division of Arqiva, Allinea Software, and Tulip (who produce SPAM, with Plumrose and Danepak) in the UK, and are owned by Danish Crown Group - Europe's largest pork producer. Caparo Vehicle Technologies is off the B4087 road towards Leamington Spa. NFU Mutual is in Tiddington near Stratford and the NFU is in Stoneleigh; AGCO Limited UK is nearby at Stareton, who own Massey Ferguson; the large factory at Coventry closed in 2002. The British Horse Society is in Kenilworth. At Cubbington is the UK headquarters of Joma, and has the Thwaites dumper manufacturer. The University of Warwick, on the Coventry/Warwickshire boundary, is home to the Warwick Manufacturing Group technology consultancy and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre. colliery produced 3.2 million tonnes of coal, a UK record]] BMW have their main European four-cylinder engine plant at Hams Hall near the M42. Subaru UK and Isuzu UK (IM Group) are sandwiched between the M6 and the M42 (south of junction 8) at the Coleshill Manor Office Campus, west of Coleshill. ALDI UK is in Atherstone and 3M have an abrasive products (sandpaper) factory. Daw Mill, next to the railway, is Britain's biggest coal producer near the B4098/B4114 junction at Arley and Over Whitacre. Holland & Barrett, the health food chain, Triton Showers (the UK's largest shower company), and Adams Childrenswear are based in Nuneaton. South of Nuneaton, at the A444/B4113 roundabout is the national distribution centre of Dairy Crest, where it also packages Cathedral City cheese. North of Coventry, Oleo International (its name is from the Oleo strut) is a world leader in railway buffers based on the B4113 in Exhall, next to the M6. Aston Martin and Land Rover have their headquarters in Gaydon. Converteam UK (former Alstom), Morgan Est, and the European HQ of Gap are in Rugby. Alstom have their Power and Transport division in the north of Rugby on the A426, where they service steam turbines; on the Swift Valley Ind Estate Premier Foods have their national distribution centre. Rolls-Royce have a large engine overhaul plant (former Armstrong Siddeley), near Ansty and the M6/M69 junction in Coombe Fields, which also makes their engine casings. West Midlands county Nationally famous companies in the West Midlands include Cadbury's in Bournville, Birmingham. Mitchells and Butlers, the pub chain company, CrossCountry, and National Express are in Birmingham. Small-scale production of MG cars was started again by Nanjing Automobile Group on part of the former MG Rover Group site at Longbridge in 2008. H. Samuel, the jewellers, is in Hockley of the Jewellery Quarter. RoSPA is based in Edgbaston; Dollond & Aitchison and ATS Euromaster are in Aston. Goodyear Tyres and Dunlop Tyres are at Fort Dunlop near Erdington, where the plant manufactured car tyres until 2000, and now manufactures for motorsport. GKN Driveline is the world's leading manufacturer of constant-velocity joints and, although headquartered in Redditch, has its UK plant at the A38/A452 roundabout in Tyburn, north of the JLR plant. Stadco UK have a metal pressings plant at Bromford off the A47. Concentric UK (former part of Haldex) is a manufacturer of oil and water pumps for small diesel engines, off the A38 in Gravelly Hill. VDO make fuel systems nearby off the A38. Alstom used to have a train factory in Washwood Heath, which built Pendolino trains, but closed in 2007. Dana Traction Technologies make axles (including that of the Ford Transit and Range Rover) and limited slip differentials at Witton, off the A4040 near the M6, and TIMET UK. Legrand UK (electrical switches) is based at the A41/A4540 junction at Newtown south of Aston. Eaton Electric (former Delta and MEM) make residual-current devices (Cutler-Hammer) and switchgear off the A41 in Tyseley, and Mereway Kitchens is nearby. Goodrich Engine Controls make engine control systems for jet engines at Hall Green. Webasto Roof Systems is on the A4097 in Minworth, where Hozelock make plastic hose couplings, next to Cadbury's distribution centre. The Highways Agency have their National Traffic Control Centre in Quinton between the M5 and A456 near junction 3. Ishida Europe makes industrial multihead weighers on the Woodgate Business Park near the M5, and to the west Lander Automotive make pipes for automotive cooling systems. Jaguar Cars, Peugeot UK (head office, on the B4110 next to the railway at Stoke Aldermoor), Jewson (off the B4428 in the east of the city at Binley), and Severn Trent (water) are in Coventry. E.ON UK (former Powergen) and a main office of Thomson Holidays are at Westwood Business Park in Westwood Heath, south-west of the city near Tile Hill. Bladon Jets, in Pinley off the B4110, develop micro gas turbines and were the first to develop an axial flow micro gas turbine in 1994. The Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Centre is just south of Coventry at Whitley on the A444, and Jaguar Land Rover also have a large manufacturing plant at Castle Bromwich Assembly where they make the XJ, XF and XK; this site in Pype Hayes and Tyburn built half of the RAF's Spitfires in the Second World War. The Jaguar Veneer Manufacturing Centre is on the B4067, where the former main factory had been since 1951, on the outskirts of western Coventry. Motaquip, PSA Peugeot Citroën's spares division, is based in Tile Hill off the A45 outer ring road, and UYT produces body in white automotive components at the B4101 junction with the A45 Coventry Business Park, built on the former Triumph car factory. The Skills Funding Agency, Young People's Learning Agency, and National Apprenticeship Service are east of the railway station. AAH Pharmaceuticals and Lloyds Pharmacy are at the Walsgrave Triangle next to the M69/M6 junction off Hinckley Road (A4600), and are both owned by Stuttgart-based Celesio, Europe's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler. Nextdoor, Sainsbury's have the national distribution centre for their TU brand of discount clothing. Magnetto-Topy (former Dunlop, now part of the C.L.N. S.p.A Italian company) make car wheels at Whitmore Park off the B4118 in north Coventry. To the east of the factory, Stadco UK have a design site, and Pailton Engineering make steering columns and steering linkages. in eastern Africa, made in Solihull]] The main Land Rover factory and Halfords Autocentre (in Olton off the A41, until early 2012) are in Solihull. The Forensic Science Service, Linpac, Lafarge Cement UK and IMI plc are on the Birmingham Business Park in Bickenhill, near the airport; the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is just north, between the airport and the M42. Newey and Eyre, Britain's largest electrical wholesaler and part of Rexel UK, is at Sheldon on the A45 near the airport. Goodrich UK is in Shirley. Prologis UK and Enterprise Inns are on the A34 in Monkspath. Carillion (has the second largest turnover of companies in the East and West Midlands, and the largest in the West Midlands) is on the west of the Wolverhampton ring-road (A4150), Tarmac is on the A4039 south-east of the city centre in Ettingshall, and ADAS is to the north-west on the A41 in Wergs. Marston's is headquartered west of the ring road, on the A41, and have the Park Brewery on the A4124, east of the city centre. BAE Systems Land & Armaments (former Alvis Bridging) is on the A4126 in Ettingshall, near Tarmac, and will close at the end of 2011. In Fordhouses, along the A449 to the north, are HS Marston (part of Hamilton Sundstrand) makes heat exchangers, Goodrich Actuation Systems, and a new engine plant for JLR. Poundland is in Willenhall, on the side of the Black Country Route (A454) towards the M6 junction 11. Wedge Group, based on the B4484 in Willenhall, is the largest hot dip galvanizing company in the UK. Hampson Industries is in Brierley Hill. Boss Design is a furniture manufacturer in Blowers Green, Dudley at the A461/A459 roundabout. KUKA Robotics UK, a maker of industrial robots, is off the A459 at Mucklow Hill in Halesowen. Hingley Trailers (former M+G Trailers before 2009) makes trailers on the A458 in Lye. Marcegaglia UK make electrical-resistance welded steel tubes off the A461 in Dudley. Essar Steel UK (former Servosteel) on the A4101 in west Dudley, is the largest steel toll processor in the UK. Avery Weigh-Tronix is on the site of James Watt's Soho Foundry in Smethwick. Hadley Group near the Soho Foundry is the largest cold roll forming manufacturer in the UK. J. B. & S. Lees makes steel strip at the Trident Steel Works in Albion, West Bromwich off the B4166 and also by Firth Cleveland at the B4517/B4163 junction in Tipton further up the Birmingham Canal. Caparo Precision Tubes between the M5 and A4182 in Oldbury, is the UK's largest producer of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel tubes, and Wellman Group make boilers off the A457 to the west. Metsec, east of Oldbury (owned by Voestalpine), is one of the UK's largest cold roll-forming companies. Conex Bänninger (former IBP Conex), on the B4166 in New Town, west of West Bromwich on Birmingham Canal, make pipe and compression fittings Homeserve is in the north of Walsall on the A34. Worcestershire :''see also Manufacturing in Worcester ]] In Redditch are Halfords, on the B449 to the south in Washford, and GKN (has the second largest turnover in the West Midlands) is on the A441 in Riverside. CompAir Hydrovane, who make rotary vane compressors, are on the Washford Ind Estate near the B4497/A453 junction in Redditch. Mettis Aerospace are on the B4184 in Enfield, north Redditch, and make light metal components. Roger Dyson Group manufactures auto-recovery vehicles off the A442 in north Droitwich, near Vax and Koito Europe (car headlamps). Lea & Perrins is in Worcester. Joy Mining Machinery are on the A44 in the west of Worcester. Worcester, Bosch Group make 1,200 boilers a day. Mazak UK have the parent company's European manufacturing facility (for CNC machine tools) on the B4639 in the north of Worcester, next to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Sealine make boats at the A442/A451 roundabout in Kidderminster, owned by Brunswick Boat Group. Also In Kidderminster of the A451, Stourport Road. Is Brintons Carpets & Beak bane. The West Midland Safari Park is off the A456 in Bewdley, west of Kidderminster. Morgan Technical Ceramics is headquartered on the B4195 at Lickhill in Stourport-on-Severn, south of Kidderminster. Egbert H. Taylor off the A442 in Elmley Lovett, near Hartlebury is the world's leading manufacturer of metal bins. Leigh Sinton was the home of Biffa Waste Services’ Worcester depot until the closure in July 2013. Liquid crystal displays were developed in 1972 in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment, where Geoffrey Dummer invented the idea of the integrated circuit in 1952. It was based in Malvern, and became the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, which developed thermal imaging, and is now a large site owned by QinetiQ. Morgan Motor Company is in Malvern Link; nearby is Desire Petroleum. Commsoft RMS is in Evesham. Education ]] ]] Secondary education Birmingham (8), Walsall (2), Wolverhampton (1), Warwickshire (6), Stoke-on-Trent (1), and Telford and Wrekin (2) have selective schools. The other counties or metropolitan boroughs do not: being completely comprehensive. Virtually all of the grammar schools are in the top twenty schools for the West Midlands. Competition for these schools can be high, with their excellent records. The top 20 schools at A-level rarely changes from year to year. There are around 275,000 at secondary schools in the region, the 4th highest in England after South East England, Greater London and North West England. For persistent truancy at secondary schools, Sandwell has the highest rate at 6.9%. The lowest truancy rate for the region is the former district of South Shropshire, and the district of Bromsgrove has the lowest truancy for a current district with 2.3%. At GCSE, the best performing area in 2010 is Solihull, closely followed by Warwickshire and Shropshire. Dudley, Herefordshire, Telford and Wrekin, Birmingham and Staffordshire (in descending order) are also above the England average. Worcestershire is at the England average. The (consistently) worst performing area is Sandwell, followed by Stoke-on-Trent. Wolverhampton and Walsall also do not perform well, although Wolverhampton improved in 2010. For metropolitan boroughs, Solihull then Dudley perform the best, and Dudley also is the best metropolitan borough at A-level, being much better than Solihull. At A-level in 2010, the consistently best performing area is Herefordshire. Herefordshire's results are due to most of its A-level candidates going to Hereford's sixth form college. Dudley is also above the England average; the other metropolitan boroughs have low A-level results. Solihull does not perform as well at A-level as it does at GCSE. Shropshire is at the England average. Tertiary education There are thirty-seven FE colleges (FECs).Directory of AoC member Colleges There are six LSCs for the area (which fund FECs), and the Learning and Skills Council head office is based in Coventry. The five largest FE colleges in the region - Bournville College, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, Solihull College, South & City College Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent College - each have more than 25,000 students. School children in Shropshire and Solihull are most likely to attend university, followed by Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. School league tables Below is a list of the top thirty state schools in the West Midlands by 2010 A level results: * 1. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Kings Heath (1212) * 2. Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls * 3. King Edward VI Five Ways, Bartley Green * 4. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Kings Heath * 5. Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls * 6. Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall * 7. Wolverhampton Girls' High School * 8. Newport Girls High School * 9. King Edward VI Handsworth * 10. King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon * 11. King Edward VI Aston * 12. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield * 13. King Edward VI College, Stourbridge * 14. Thomas Telford School, Telford * 15. St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent * 16. Queen Mary's High School, Walsall * 17. Rugby High School for Girls * 18. St Augustine's High School, Redditch * 19. Hereford Sixth Form College * 20. Moorlands Sixth Form College, Cheadle, Staffordshire * 21. King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy * 22. Southam College * 23. Shrewsbury Sixth Form College * 24. King Edward VI School (Lichfield) * 25. Plantsbrook School, Sutton Coldfield * 26. Colyton Grammar School * 27. Kings Norton Girls School * 28. Old Swinford Hospital, Stourbridge * 29. St Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, Aldridge * 30. William Brookes School, Much Wenlock (880) Universities The University of Birmingham is the main university in the regionHEFCE and has the most funding. It has a large research grant, as does the University of Warwick, which is the next largest in terms of funding. Birmingham and Warwick are members of the Russell Group of public research universities. Keele and Aston have a moderate research grant, but none of the other universities do. Keele, although having the largest campus in the UK (by area), is one of the smallest universities in the region. There are medical schools are at Warwick, Keele and Birmingham. Birmingham and Warwick receive more than twice as much total income than any other university in the region - around £400 million each. For students in the region, around 45% are from the region, and 35% from other regions. The other region with the most native students in the region is South East England (good access via the M40 and the West Coast Main Line), but there is a good mix of students from other regions, except the North East (especially) and Yorkshire. Students native to the West Midlands are most likely to study in the region (40%), then the East Midlands (12%), the North West (11%), and then Yorkshire (9%). Very few go to the East of England or the North East. The region has a net export of university students to other regions. Once graduated, almost 60% of graduates stay in the region, with 10% going to London, 7% to the South-East, and around 5% to the East Midlands. Very few go to Yorkshire, the North-East, or even (neighbouring) Wales. Local media * The West Midlands region of the BBC is based at the Mailbox in Birmingham. From there, the regional programme Midlands Today is produced. ITV Central broadcasts from Birmingham, off Broad Street on Gas Street next to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, with its Central Tonight regional programme. Most television and radio services for the region come from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, with the lesser-powered Ridge Hill for the south-west of the region, and The Wrekin for Shropshire. Droitwich is the BBC's main longwave transmitter for Radio 4, and is near the M5/M42 junction and is also one of three main transmitters for 5 Live on 693MW. Digital switchover was completed for Wrekin and Ridge Hill in April 2011, with Sutton Coldfield done in September 2011. * BBC Radios WM, Coventry & Warwickshire, Stoke, Hereford & Worcester and Shropshire. * Commercial radio stations: brmb, Beacon in Wolverhampton, Mercia in Coventry, Touch Radio (Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth) in Tamworth, Touch FM (Coventry), Touch FM (Stratford-upon-Avon), Kerrang! 105.2 in Birmingham, Capital Birmingham (former Galaxy Birmingham), Heart West Midlands in Birmingham, 105.7 Smooth Radio in Birmingham, 107.1 Rugby FM, The Severn (north Shropshire), Sunshine Radio in Hereford, Sunshine 855 in Ludlow, 107.2 The Wyre in Kidderminster, 107.7 The Wolf in Wolverhampton, Wyvern in Worcester, and Signal 1 from Stoke. * Newspapers - the Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail, Express & Star in Wolverhampton, Burton Mail, Shropshire Star, Worcester News, The Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry Evening Telegraph, Nuneaton News and Nuneaton Telegraph * Websites - Channel 4's 4Talent network has a hub in the West Midlands dealing with rising media talent from the region: Channel 14.Channel14.com Sport Football References External links ]] * Advantage West Midlands - Regional Development Agency * Government Office for the West Midlands * West Midlands Regional Assembly * Government's list of councils in the West Midlands * MLA West Midlands - Museums, Libraries and Archives Regional Agency * NHS West Midlands - The regional Strategic Health Authority for the West Midlands * West Midlands NO! - campaign against regional government in the West Midlands * Black Country Living Museum, which tells the history of the modern West Midlands areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of England Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union Category:West Midlands (region)